Banks lift Sensex 101 pts, Nifty above 10,200; SBI, Asian Paints top gainers

Moneycontrol News

The market continued to see volatility on Tuesday ahead of expiry of October derivative contracts later in the week, but despite that it managed to close higher for second consecutive session.

Banks and select FMCG stocks helped the 50-share NSE Nifty close above 10,200 level. The index was up 22.80 points at 10,207.70 while the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 100.62 points to 32,607.34.

The volatility is expected to continue in near term ahead of expiry of October futures & options contracts, and due to September quarter earnings, experts feel.

The sentiment is likely to remain tepid, thanks to higher valuations and absence of earnings growth, Saurabh Mukherjea of Ambit Capital told CNBC-Tv18.

“What has happened in the last six months is a combination of circumstances — valuations in India have gone up with a commensurate improvement in underlying fundamentals. The P/E multiple of Indian market shot through,” he said in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

The major action was seen in PSU banks, especially on hopes of early recapitalisation due to asset quality concerns. Nifty PSU Bank was top gainer among sectoral indices, rising 3.8 percent.

Andhra Bank, Syndicate Bank, PNB, IDBI Bank, OBC, Allahabad Bank, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda and SBI gained 3-7 percent.

Among private banks, ICICI Bank was up 1.5 percent while Yes Bank and IndusInd Bank fell 1.8 percent.

HDFC Bank closed flat after stable earnings for the quarter ended September 2017. Its profit grew by 20 percent despite sharp spike in provisions but asset quality was stable.

Zee Entertainment was biggest gainer among Nifty 50 stocks, rising 7 percent and Asian Paints rallied 4 percent after Q2 earnings.

Software firm Infosys declined 1.4 percent ahead of earnings that announced after market hours. Its profit grew 7 percent but revenue missed analysts' estimates and the full year constant currency revenue guidance cut to 5.5-6.5 percent from 6.5-8.5 percent earlier.

The Nifty IT index was biggest loser among sectoral indices, falling a percent. HCL Technologies was down 2.4 percent ahead of earnings tomorrow.

Reliance Industries saw profit booking, declining 0.6 percent after hitting a record high of Rs 947.70 per share intraday that helped it hit Rs 6 lakh crore in market capitalisation.

The broader markets also ended higher, with the BSE Midcap index rising 0.2 percent and Smallcap up 0.6 percent. About 1,442 shares advanced against 1,317 declining shares on the BSE.

In broader space, NCC, PNC Infratech, Sadbhav Engineering, IRB Infra, Jai Corp, GVK Power, NIIT and S Chand gained 1-7 percent. Havells plunged 7 percent as majority of foreign brokerage houses retained sell rating on the stock post Q2 earnings.